Vol. XXXVII No. 37
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THURSDAY, May 12, 2011
Stellar
season ends
for WSSU
golfers
-See Page B8
Paisley
alums
give out
grants
-See Page All
School
takes in
this vast
world
-See Page HI
75 cents
G^bra'%
; 36\
'""nay ^
Photos by I-ayla Farmri
Leah Dula Brown reads a tribute to her mother Lorna Dula.
Celebrating Mom
Radio station crowns
'Mother of the Year '
BY I.AYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
In the last six \ears, Lorna Dula of Durham
has buried both of her parents, supported her
husband through his fight against prostate can
cer, nursed her sister who was ailing with an
autoimmune disease, weathered a breast cancer
diagnosis and treatment herself, coped with
being laid off from her job after 25 years of
service and helped her daughter, Leah Brown,
through a difficult time in her marriage.
Through it all. Brown says her mother remained
steadfast and held the family together.
"She never gave up. She never stopped. She
never felt defeated." Brown said. "In spite of
Sec Moms on A 10
MonaLisa Covington reads the tribute her son, Travareous
Covington, wrote about her.
Poet carves out his own unique niche
Submitted Photo
Jo sep h us
Thompson
III is gain
ing a reputa
tion in the
^ Triad and
beyond for
his skills.
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
"Find something you would do for free and then lio it so
well that people want to pay you for it."
Those are the words Greensboro Poet Josephus
Thompson III lives by. Since 2009. Thompson, a former
UPS employee, has made his living doing the thing he loves
most.
Through his company. Mentality Enterprises, the NC
A&T State University alumnus has launched three major
endeavors: Poetry Project, a workshop that exposes youth
from the ages 10-17 to the power of poetry; Reasons 2
Rhyme, a community-driven series designed to broaden the
reach and appreciation of poetry within the city of
See Poet on All
League keeps
baseball alive
among blacks
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
America's favorite past time appears to be losing its foot
ing in the black community.
In its April 21 Executive Summary, the University of
Central Florida's TIDE (The Institute for Diversity and
Ethics in Shorts) reported that Major League Baseball saw a
1.5 percent drop in the number of African American players
between the 2010 and 2011 seasons, dragging total African
American representation on the field to 8.5 percent, the low
est since 2007 and the third lowest in decades, according to
the report. While
the League does
well overall in
diversity with its
many Latino and
i n t ern at i on al
players, the num
ber of home
grown African
American players
continues to
shrink.
Here in
Winston-Salem,
similar trends
have taken place.
Vanessa
Westberry, presi
dent of the Twin
City Little
League
Baseball/Softball
Association, is
hoping to turn
some of the local
numbers around,
by boosting the
morale and sup
port of the city's
Photo by Lay la Farmer
Xavier Kelly (left) and Miles
McCollum of the Majors Yankees
prepare to run a drill with their
teammates .
only predominantly black baseball/softball league for youth.
"We're here to try to keep baseball going." she declared.
"...I want to see the kids succeed in anything, not just foot
ball or basketball. 1 want to see the kids decide what they
want to do."
Convincing parents that baseball is a worthy sport for
their children to engage in has been an uphill battle, said
Westberry, who has served as president of the organization for
four years.
"The first year I started this... we had a 13 and 14 year-old
team that could have went to the All Stars," explained the
longtime beautician. "They came in second place. We were
going to let them go on to play but a lot of the parents
pulled them out to play football so we didn't even get to see
how far they could go."
Many African American youth are quick to dismiss the
idea of playing baseball, opting instead to take part in the
myriad basketball and football programs that are offered
across the city. Westberry said. The Twin City complex had
also gained a negative reputation among those in the commu
nity because of incidents that occurred prior to her taking the
helm, the city native explained. She is working to rebuild
the organization's and the sport's reputation, one season at a
time.
This year, the League saw an increase in participation,
attracting more than 130 players to its ranks. Partnerships
with other Little Leagues have allowed Twin City players to
expand their exposure and experience in recent years as well.
Sec Baseball on AS
Capitol Art
Photo by Todd Luck
Subhadra S emetaite , winner of the 12th
Congressional District High School Art
Contest, stands with her winning piece, which
will soon he placed in the U.S. Capitol. Read
more on A3.
Mother, daughter among those battling Lupus
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem native Ouida Patten says she'll
never forget the day she was diagnosed with Lupus.
It was January 2, 2002, and after seeing a physi
cian for over a year about her unexplained hair loss.
Patten had asked her doctor if there was anything else
that could be causing the problem. Patten says she
wasn't prepared to hear the results of her scalp biopsy.
"I didn't think it was going to be as serious as it
was," admitted Patten, who had also suffered with knee
pain and fatigue. "When she said it was Lupus. I just
freaked out because my son's paternal grandmother had
died of systemic Lupus. That was all I knew of Lupus.
When she told me that that's what it was, I immedi
ately thought I was going to die."
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease (meaning
Sec Lupus on A5
Photo by Layla Farmer
Ouida Patten with her mother, Valeria Thompson.
Spend it here.
Keep it here.
BUY LOCAL FIRST!